Fifth Conference on University‐Business‐Government Interaction,  Universidad Technoloigca de Bolivar, Colombia, August 22 to 24, 2011 

Technological Universities as Source of Innovation, Research, Knowledge Transfer and Entrepreneurship to Generate Competitive Advantages for their Territories

Professor Seeram Ramakrishna, FREng, FNAE, FAAASseeram@nus.edu.sg

SingaporeColombia

Half Way Around the World! (16,000 km)

~ 1,038,700 sq km~ 44 m~ $285.5 billion GDP

~ 687 sq km~ 5 m~ $222.7 billion GDP

OUTLINE

Global Landscape

Singapore

National University of Singapore

Summary

0,0%

5,0%

10,0%

15,0%

20,0%

25,0%

30,0%

35,0%

40,0%

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Asia

USA

Europe

Rest of theWorld

% o

f Glo

bal R

&D

Spe

ndin

g

YearSource: Battelle, R&D Magazine, Global R&D Funding Forecast, editions:– Dec 2008 , Dec 2009 and Dec 2010 Changing Face of Innovation : Is it Shifting to Asia? Seeram & Daniel

Breakdown of Global R& D Spending

In 2010, Asia surpassed US in having the highest global share of spending 

in  R&D

4

Global Increases in Researchers

US1342

US1426

Total number of researchers: ~ 5 m (year 2000); ~ 10 m (year 2010)

Source: OECD Factbook 2009: Economic, Environmental and Social Statistics - ISBN 92-64-05604-1 - © OECD 2009; A*STAR Singapore; Main Science and Technology Indicators, OECD, Paris, 2009; Brazil: Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT); India: National Science & Technology Management Information System, Department of Science & Technology.

Gross Domestic Expenditure on R&D (GERD) as percent of GDPHigher Education Expenditure on R&D (HERD) as percent of GDP

Research Statistics - 2007

Growing Importance of Universities to the Nations in Scientific Research, Innovation & Economic Growth

Pre‐1600* Few Institutions of Higher Learning* Theology, Philosophy, Medicine, Law* Scholarship funded by self, wealthy and crown* Educated people for religious institutions and courts of crowns

* Introduction of Science and Technology* New universities across Europe* Trained workforce for Industry* Scholarship funded by self, wealthy and crowns* Enabling role of print media

1600 ‐ 1900 1900 – 2000* Education + Scientific Research* Massive expansion of university sector in Europe and America* After WWII Nation states funding research

2000 & Beyond* More than 15,000* universities worldwide* Education + Research + Economic Impact* Global mobility of talent* Ubiquitous information and enabling role of ICT* Nation states funding research for competitive advantage

Universities Trends

Changing Face of Innovation : Is it Shifting to Asia? Seeram & Daniel, 2011, World Scientific Publishers

University Landscape –Knowledge Generation and Knowledge Absorption are Global

7

Social mobility 

Rich source of research, analysis, commentary & thought leadership

Globally competitive human capital

Impactful new knowledge generation and innovations to support economy

Magnet for investments resulting in wealth creation & job creation

Global reputation and visibility

Importance of Universities to the Nationsin a competitive global world

8

Meeting the Expectations

OUTLINE

Global Landscape

Singapore

National University of Singapore

Summary

“What is interesting from a British perspective is thatthere is a sense of ambition here which is hugelyimpressive and when we consider our ownchallenges, generating growth in the economy, thereis a lot we need to look at here at how they havedone it”

“….Interesting to see the evolution of educationsystem, language, legal system, civil service, in wayswe can learn from and we can hopefully share theirexperience”

Antony PhillipsonBritish High Commissioner to Singapore

Monday August 8, 2011

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

1960196319661969 19721975197819811984 1987199019931996 19992002200520080

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Evolution of the Singapore Economy

GDP US$BPer Capita US$K

From 1960 to 2010 Singapore’s GDP increased by ~40-fold

Asian Financial Crisis 97-98

9-11 / Dot-Com Burst 2001

1960 - 1969Labourintensive

1970 – 1979Skillintensive

1980 - 1989Capitalintensive

1990 - 1999Technology Intensive

2000-Knowledge/InnovationEconomy

Global Financial Crisis 2009 Periods of Economic Contraction :

A small island city state with no natural resources Highly industrialized, developed & urbanized Best place to do business & live in Asia

Ranked 2nd most innovative vountry – by BCGworld’s second‐busiest container port and fourth‐largest financial centre – Bloomberg A global hub for a range of industries, from financial services to transportation, to pharmaceuticalsMost U.S. dollar‐millionaire households per capita

GDP (2010)  $222.7 billion

Per capita GDP $62,100 (PPP)

Singapore

Singapore Budget by Sector - % of 2010 Budget

Education – 20.8% of 2010 Government 

Budget

Education has been high priority since independence

Social Development , 

43 %

Security and External Relations, 32.5%

Economic Development, 

21.1 %

Government Administration, 

3.4%

Singapore

Sufficient resources to support quality mass education

Attract the best and brightest to teaching and research

Social mobility

Source : http://www.esc.gov.sg; Singapore Government Budget 2010 & Statistics Singapore

Singapore Government Budget 2010

Total Expenditure by Government

46.37 bi

Projected GDP 277.67 bi

Total Expenditure on Education 9.66 bi

Education Expenditure as % of Budget 2010

20.83%

Total Expenditure on Universities

2.52 bi

University Expenditure as % of Education Budget

26.09%

High Priority - Education of People Singapore

Public Universities 

Year Founded University Name Distinguishing Features

1905 National University of Singapore (NUS) Leading comprehensive University

1991 Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Engineering, Business, Sciences + Medicine

2000 Singapore Management University (SMU)

Business (strong link with Wharton School)

2010 Singapore University of Technology & Design (SUTD)

Engineering (strong link with MIT & Zhejiang University)

University Cohort Participation Rate in SingaporeYear 1980 Year 2010

5% 26% (50,000 students)

Drop out rate of tertiary education students: OECD ~ 30%; Singapore ~ 5%

Singapore Source for best ideas globally Customize to local system and culture

18

1960 20001980

Labour Intensive

Capital IntensiveTechnology Intensive

Skills Intensive

Higher Education + S&T Innovation

+ EnterprisesDriven Economy

2020

Singapore Government’s Goal: To transform Singapore into one of themost research‐intensive, innovative and entrepreneurial economies in the worldin order to create high‐value add jobs and prosperity for Singaporeans

2010 2015

Singap

ore R&

D Spe

nding as % of G

DP

3.5%

2.7%

3.5%

2.5%

3.0%

1.3% 1.3% 1.3%1.4%

1.5% 1.5%

1.7%

2.1% 2.2% 2.1% 2.2%2.3% 2.3%

2.5%

1.2%

1.9%

1.0%

1.5%

2.0%

2.5%

3.0%

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

BERD/GDP GERD/GDP

1.9% 2.0%

Gross Expenditure on R&D (GERD)Business Expenditure on R&D (BERD)

Science & Technology Plan 2010(2006-2010)S$13.9 billion

Science & Technology Plan 2005(2001-2005)S$6 billion

National Science & Technology Plan (1996-2000)S$4 billion

National TechnologyPlan

(1991-1995)S$2 billion

5-year S&T Plan

Science, Technology & Enterprise Plan 2015(2011-2015)

S$ 16.1 billion

{Public expenditure on scientific research:

UK ~ 0.55%GDPGermany ~ 0.71%

USA ~ 0.77%France ~ 0.81%

Singapore ~ 1%}

Singapore’s Spending on R&D

Singapore’s Spending on R&D

1991‐1995:  $ 2 billion

1996‐2000:  $ 4 billion

2001‐2005:  $ 6 billion

2006‐2010:  $ 13.55 billion

2011‐2015:  $ 16.1 billion

~3,000 researchers, scientists & engineers,

RSEs in 1990

~12,000 RSEs in 2010

Reference: R&D Magazine, Dec 2009 : 2010 Global Funding Forecast

Global Averages: R&D expend ~1.7% of total world GDP;

1544 researchers per million people

R&D Expend as % of GDP

Res

earc

hers

/ M

illio

n P

eopl

e

Singapore –3.5% GDP by 2015

High Priority - InnovationSingapore

Singapore’s output of papers, representing all fields

Key Features of R&D Management in Singapore

Combination of top‐down and bottom‐up

International bench‐marking/ peer review

Industry inputs in shaping R&D thrusts

Attract the best and brightest to the teaching and research          (pay scales pegged to the global bench‐marks; world‐class infrastructure; culture of excellence)

More local competition 

Meaningful global partnerships

Co‐branding with the best in league

Industry alignment fund

Ministry of Education’s Academic Research Council

Robert Brown, Boston University

Nicholas P Bigelow, University of Rochester 

Randal Bryant, Carnegie Mellon University 

Jean‐Lou Chameau, California Institute of Technology 

Mogens Flensted‐Jensen, University of Copenhagen 

Alice Gast, Lehigh University 

Philip Khoury, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 

Sir George Radda, University of Oxford 

Judith Swain, University of California, San Diego 

Axel Ullrich, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry

Zhu Zuoyan, Peking University 

Increasing Competition Locally

NUS (1980)

NTU (1991)

SMU (2000)

SUTD (2010)

Global Players in Singapore MIT, USA UC Berkeley, USA ETH, Switzerland Technion, BU & HUJ, Israel Peking University, China Imperial College, UK

Singapore’s Public Research Institutes ASTAR’s 15 institutes

Private Sector Industry

Singapore Public Universities

Singapore National

Research Foundation’s

Campus for Research

Excellence And

Technological Enterprise

(CREATE) co- located at

University Town

CREATE

University Town

650,000 sq ft scientific research centerlocated at the National University of Singapore’s new 7 acre University Town campus.

Global Partnerships

Singapore‐MIT Alliance for Research and 

Technology

1. Infectious Diseases

2. Environmental Sensing & Modeling

3. Bio‐Systems and Micromechanics   

4. Future Urban Mobility

Global Partnerships

SINGAPORE‐ETH, Switzerland: Future Cities Laboratory

Global Partnerships

Singapore-Berkeley ResearchInstitute for SustainableEnergy (SINBERISE)

Global Partnerships

Industry Alignment Fund

$1.35bn (~ 10% of national R&D budget) is provisioned as

Industry Alignment Fund (IAF)

IAF will be used to develop a portfolio of R&D programs

and capabilities that are aligned with the needs of industry

over the next 5‐10 years; as well as attract and stimulate a

higher level of industry R&D spending in Singapore

OUTLINE

Global Landscape

Singapore

National University of Singapore

Summary

Rooting Culture of Excellence @ Universities-Ministry of Education, Singapore

Institutional Self‐

Assessment

External Validation

Feedback and 

Development

Three-step Approach

Take Action 33Source : MOE, Singapore

• Indicators   & measures that 

signal and quantify success

• Indicators   & measures that 

signal and quantify success

• Feedback & Learning

• Feedback & Learning

• Resources &        operations that turn intentions 

into action

• Resources &        operations that turn intentions 

into action

• Leadership, strategies & policies that  direct the university

• Leadership, strategies & policies that  direct the university What are  

we trying   to do?

How are we trying           

to achieve this?  

How  are  we assessing our success?

What are  we learning?

Virtuous Quality Spiral

34Source : MOE, Singapore

Rooting Culture of Excellence @ Universities-Ministry of Education, Singapore

• Differentiated learning• Internationalization• Global learning

Human Capital Development

• World class research infrastructure• Powerhouse for new knowledge• Knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship

Capacity Building in Research Excellence

• Attraction of top talent (Local and International)• Test bedding innovative ideas for global

challenges

Magnet for Investments &

Economic Growth

• Talents (Local and International)• Academic-Private-Government Partnerships

Global Partnerships

• Academic leadership• Academic innovationsGlobal Reputation

National University of Singapore (NUS) in Nation’s Progress in a Globalized World

Internationalization of University

NUS excels by providing differentiated

learning experience with

~ 50% faculty members,

~ 30% of undergraduates, and

~ 75% of graduates

~ 75% of researchers

from over 100 nations

Global Learning

Take NUS students to the world

50% undergraduates go overseas; 20% for > 6 months

> 60 joint- & double-degree programmes with top universities around the world

180 partner universities for student exchange

6 NUS Overseas Colleges across the US, Europe, China and India

Duke‐NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore

Singapore‐MIT Alliance (SMA)The Logistics Institute‐Asia PacificMasters in Public PolicyExecutive Development ProgramDesign Technology InstituteGerman Institute of Science & Technology French‐NUS Double Degree ProgramInternational MBA ProgramNYU@NUS Law ProgramJDP in Actuarial Studies & Economics

Joint PhD  Program 

Duke MIT

Georgia TechHarvardStanford

T/u Eindhoven T U Munich

6 Grandes EcolesPeking

New YorkAustralian National

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay 

Global Education Partnerships

NUS-Government-Private PartnershipsCampus for Research Excellence And Technological Enterprise (C.R.E.A.T.E.)

UNIVERSITY TOWN

FUSIONOPOLIS

BIOPOLIS

National University of Singapore

part of National Research EcosystemWithin 7 KM radius SCIENCE  PARK

S$150 million investment by GE and NUS (2008)2,700 sq metres of new R&D laboratory on NUS Campus

NUS – GE Singapore Water Technology CentreWorld – Class Collaborative Centre with Industry for advancing water technologies Self‐sufficiency in meeting national water needs Solutions for other nations

Example

Solar panels

$120m SOLAR ENERGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF SINGAPORE (2008)

Example

World´s best person to lead it Clean energy technology solutions for Singapore and the world

~ 92% of NUS’s Research Funds come from External Competitive Grants

NUS-funded Research Programmes

4%

RCEs (Cancer, CQT, Mechanobiology)

18%A*STAR 15%

MOH15%

Others (Other Min/Stat Boards/Industry/

Foundations/ Individuals)28%

MOE Competitive Grants (Tier 2)

7%

NRF (Projects)9%

MOE Block Grant for Research (Tier 1)

4%

Others (Other Min/StatBoards/Industry/Foundations/Individuals)RCEs (Cancer, CQT,Mechanobiology)

MOH

A*STAR

MOE Competitive Grants(Tier 2)

NRF (other than RCEfunding)

MOE Block Grant forResearch (Tier 1)

NUS-funded Research

RESEARCH: Inputs and Outputs/Outcomes

INPUTS

Research Quality? 

Researchblack box

Numbers –of researchers, 

facilities, collaboration

O

UT

P

UT

S

JournalsBooksConf papers 

Ideas: proposals, 

and 

partnerships 

Trained manpower 

Academies Editorial Boards

Patents LicensesSpin‐offs

Investments;Revenue 

Key notes Op’ed

Skilled employment

Industrial contracts

Research Grant  O

UT

CO

ME

S

PrizesAwards 

Citations

Social policy change

External Research Grants Awarded to NUS

Total Project Value Awarded by External Funding Agencies(FY2002 - FY2009)

369

223

162

11088

263

$0

$50

$100

$150

$200

$250

$300

$350

$400

FY04 FY05 FY06 FY07 FY08 FY09

Financial Year

Proj

ect V

alue

S$m

illio

n

NUS52%NTU

31%

A*STAR14%

Others3%

New Knowledge Generation

Share of Publications in Journals

Source : Accessed Thomson Reuters -Web of Science data on 1 Sep 2010; Journal Publications with Impact Factor

Period from Year 2000 to 31 Aug 2010

Ranking of Share of Publications by Higher Education

1 National University ofSingapore (NUS)

2 Nanyang TechnologicalUniversity (NTU)

3 Agency for Science,Technology and Research (A*STAR)

4 Others

2010-11 THE World University Rankings for NUS

Source: www.timeshighereducation.co.uk

World rank: 34th

Asia rank: 4th

Contribute to 52% of Singapore’s total research output of about 60,000 journal articles for the past decade

Materials Science is the BESTperformance for NUS with its papers cited at more than twice the world average.

Other fields in the physical sciences with substantial output and high relative impact by NUS researchers were Mathematics, Engineering and Chemistry.

* Journal & conference papers* Pockets of research* Research income* Conferences* Consultancy* Books

* High research averages  across the university*  High impact factor journal papers*  Citations, citations per paper, highly cited papers, h‐index, g‐index, etc* Editorial boards, patents, copy rights, licenses, start‐ups, spin‐offs, industry income* Advisory boards, high level committees

* Peaks of excellence‐ national & global visibility* Membership of prestigious academies* International awards & prizes#* Peer partnerships* Plenary lectures

* Thought leadership & influence* Transformative ideas & impact* Value to the respective eco‐system* National and global reputation

Universities Trends Wise Expectations are Function of Nature and Degree of Evolution of a University

47

There is no common definition of a world class university but most can point to its aspects By and large universities operate within the realm of local and national dynamicsIndividual academics can create impact without resorting to the above step-wise approach

OUTLINE

Global Landscape

Singapore

National University of Singapore

Summary

More such information can be found in this book …..

51

National Level

• Clear vision for higher education• Commitment of adequate resources (recurrent and fixed)• Competitive research funds• Autonomy to the universities• Framework for Accountability and Quality Assurance  • International Academic Advisory Panel/ External Review Panel

University Level

• Overseers of the university to comprise successful  business leaders,  entrepreneurs, scholars, policy makers, philanthropists

• Shared strategies, goals and plans• Aligned governance structures and processes• Self‐assessment and plans for improvement• Celebrate excellence

52

College/Faculty/School Level

• Visiting committees• Performance based rewards and resource allocation• Celebrate excellence

Department Level

• Visiting committees• Accreditations, where applicable• Performance based promotion and tenure• Bench‐marking with peer groups• Celebrate excellence

53

Individual Academics

• Teaching quality and effectiveness• Relative research excellence in niche area(s)• Leadership and visibility• (Globally) competitive remuneration packages• Ethics & integrity

Students and Staff

• Merit based admission of students• Source globally for graduate students and researchers• Competitive remuneration

54

Excellent Universities and Nodes

of Scientific Research &

Innovation in Specific Areas are

Globally Dispersed

21st Century

THANK YOU !

55

seeram@nus.edu.sg